S.F. teen finds self-reliance on John Muir Trail

Sarah Koch in her hiking attire at Mount Sutro forest in San Francisco.

Sarah Koch in her hiking attire at Mount Sutro forest in San Francisco.

Photo: Liz Hafalia, The Chronicle

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Sarah Koch, who hiked the entire John Muir Trail solo last summer, shows some of her equipment at Mount Sutro Forest in San Francisco. The 18-year-old, inspired by a family friend who did the 211-mile hike for her 50th birthday, started college in February. less

Sarah Koch, who hiked the entire John Muir Trail solo last summer, shows some of her equipment at Mount Sutro Forest in San Francisco. The 18-year-old, inspired by a family friend who did the 211-mile hike for ... more

This past August, while friends were packing their duffels to start college, recent San Francisco high school graduate Koch, 18, was analyzing maps, stockpiling freeze-dried lasagna and Thai curry, and plotting her drop-off at Horseshoe Meadow in the southern Sierra to hike the 211-mile John Muir Trail. From there, she would summit Mount Whitney (at 14,505 feet, the tallest peak in the Lower 48), hike back down and trek north alongside the knife ridge of the range to Yosemite. Alone.

It was Koch’s own version of “Wild,” the best-selling woman-versus-nature memoir chronicling Cheryl Strayed’s journey of self-discovery on the Pacific Crest Trail, elevated to feminist manifesto for the modern age. Reese Witherspoon plays the backpack-clad heroine in the Oscar-nominated Hollywood adaptation. Koch loosely follows the script, taking to the trail in a test of self-reliance and quest to find her truth. Hold the creature comforts.

The book and movie have definitely raised the profile of the solo girl adventurer.

The 'Wild effect’

“The 'Wild effect’ is real,” says Kelly Lewis, founder of Women’s Travel Fest, the all-female adventure travel conference now in its second year. The well-attended, three-day event in San Francisco recently featured as keynote the first woman to ski solo across Antarctica. Melissa Arnot, who has summited Everest five times, giving her the female record, also drew a crowd in San Francisco, speaking in February at the Jewish Community Center.

Women increasingly view solo travel as empowering rather than daunting. Half of women say they are more likely to book a holiday alone now than they were five years ago, according to a 2014 Booking.com survey. Women-specific adventure guidebooks, blogs and websites are proliferating, as are Instagram feeds from types like @dirtbagdarling and @dirtbarbieadventures — the latter of which now has more than 17,000 followers.

It’s not surprising that Koch has gotten swept up in the zeitgeist. The Noe Valley native has long forged her own path. In middle school, she campaigned for Obama. At 14, she quit soccer and took up swing dancing. When she started researching “thru-hiking” (the term for end-to-end trekking) the John Muir Trail, she entered a rich online world of inspiring journey women.

Koch’s interest in this endeavor was initially sparked by meeting a family friend who hiked the trail to mark her 50th birthday. Koch realized that people of all ages and experience levels could accomplish “crazy” outdoor endeavors. Her first thought was, “Well, I could do that, too,” she says, recognizing that the people who accomplish such feats are simply the ones who make it happen. “I felt I should really be intentional about how I live my life.”

As a senior at Lick-Wilmerding High School, she was already considering taking a “gap year” before college, compelled by the allure of a real-life learning experience. Then Middlebury College offered her admission for February, and the trek seemed fated. “I think she was looking to mark this important transition and passage,” says her mom, Tricia Stone.

But Koch first had to persuade her parents to let her go. She admits that she was still feeling some trepidation herself, even as she was pressing them hard. “In the process of persuading them, I actually convinced myself,” she says.

Extensive preparation

Being methodical in her preparations gave both Koch and her parents confidence. She enrolled in a Wilderness First Responder course. A couple of friends were taking self-defense (to prepare themselves to be on college campuses), and she joined in. Having never slept outdoors alone, she planned a “gear shakedown” overnight on the Skyline-to-the-Sea Trail.

What Koch found on her big solo trip in the woods was much more than proof that she could drive her own destiny. She learned how to feel happy by herself.

This required a learning curve, though. Her first day was rough. “We were both in tears as she walked off,” says her mom. It got rougher: Koch encountered 40 mile-per-hour winds on an exposed section of trail climbing Whitney, and had to crouch for protection. Gathering storm clouds on her descent brought more tears. “I felt, wow, I’m really out here,” she says.

Slowly, though, she grew more emboldened. “My fourth day I felt so much different than my second already,” Koch says. Soon she ditched her tent for sleeping under the stars, and her itinerary in favor of determining camp spots based on her energy and mood. Ultimately, she was even popping in her iPod earbuds and dancing by herself to Shakira and Hot Chip at her campsite. “It’s amazing to be happy with other people, but that you can have that by yourself is even more joyful,” she reflects.

Creating routines was one of her tricks. She found it comforting to have a set plan for when she arrived at a campsite. First, hang her water filter. Next remove her wet socks. Pitch her trusty green and orange Fly Creek Ultralight tent before dark. Send an automated text telling her parents she was OK (she didn’t have a cell phone).

She learned to sit with her most difficult feelings. “After a certain amount of thinking, my thoughts turned to those that make me most uncomfortable. My insecurities, awkward situations, moments I regret how I handled,” she says. Because she didn’t have distractions, she had to withstand her angst. “It was a little like a meditation, just learning to be with myself.”

Time with the thoughts made them less powerful. “It’s like when you say a word enough times, it starts to lose meaning. You realize that it doesn’t matter, especially being outside in this incredible place,” she says.